Lily O’Brien’s unveil the nation’s top nicknames for your loved ones

Whether it’s shortening your first name, adding to your surname or an unfortunate name that you just can’t shake off, over half of us have a nickname (60%), and 87% of us actually like it! A survey recently commissioned by Ireland’s leading chocolatier, Lily O’Brien’s, delved into the sweet and silly names that we’ve affectionately been named and that we’ve called the ones we really know.

Finding revealed by respondents include 47% call their nearest and dearest by a nickname, with ‘Love’ (24%), ‘Hun/Hon’ (20%) and ‘Darling’ (18%) being the most popular way to address your loved one.

Over half of us who have a nickname say it’s a variation of our name, and over a third (34%) have more than one nickname. Nearly a fifth of those who completed the survey (19%) knew someone called ‘Chicken’, followed by 17% of Irish people knowing a ‘Spud’ and 14% being familiar with a ‘Big Man’.

People who took part in the survey were also invited to share their nicknames and how they got them. Some examples include:

“My nickname is ‘Grill’ – The first time I went to my now-husband's house, I set his grill on fire while trying to cook garlic bread. He called me his Grillfiend after that, and not his Girlfriend.”

“My name is Dawn, but I hate early mornings and stay up late, so my friends call me Dusky!”

"I thought a watch battery was a chocolate smarty and ate it. Mistakenly told my friends who named me Energiser from then on.”

Alongside discovering the most common nicknames for you or your loved one, Lily O’Brien’s has also created a nickname generator, inspired by the delicious recipes in the Desserts Collection, perfect for adding a touch of sweetness to your special moment this Valentine’s Day.

To test it out and generate your nickname all you have to do is find the name for your birth month, then the name for the first letter of your name, put the two together and that’s the nickname! Try it out below and also try it on your loved one!

Lily O’Brien’s decadently indulgent chocolates can help you create that special moment this Valentines’ Day. All the Collections are available in stores nationwide and online at www.lilyobriens.ie.